 Is not classified or named as Most Wanted 2; only Most Wanted.
 BMW M3 is not involved in the promo art.
 Cops are still in the game.
 The logo is very clean and nothing being related to the old graffiti style.
 A trailer will be shown soon.
 The official website will be open soon.
 Release date for the game is November.

Burnout Paradise was and still is a stunning game. It's an amazing achievement that they managed that massive city running at 60 fps looking that good. Most wanted wasn't bad but NFS has been milked and The Run surely hasn't helped the brand name.

I'd be really keen about there being a new Burnout also, but, as we've seen, they've tried to take Burnout, and break it in to components and try splicing away...Which doesn't result in Burnout.

@TechnoHippy: I really got in to Burnout with Takedown, and I felt that there they got a great mix, there were competitive elements introduced (although, mainly flavour) and the quantity/quality balance was really well struck. But, it's unlikely that replicating that would work as well, today.

I think that they could combine great aspects of that game (such as, the high speed, time element, the need for caution about what you smash AT HIGH SPEED -Why did they alter that rule? Silly decision, that stripped some of the identity of Burnout...It was a part of the game that I really enjoyed - and the aggressive AI) with today's racing style. I think that direction still results in a recognisable Burnout.

That's more the Burnout that I want to see. I didn't find BP awful at all, it was good at what it did, but it felt like it was missing immediacy, or something. Urgency...That said, the game was a spawning ground for Autolog, so that was beneficial to prove the potential of that concept.

@waggy79: stunning technical achievement: I think there's no question. Criterion delivered big-time with BP. What was great about it, too, was their approach to community, both in how they managed and supported the game after launch...But, also, how they brought the community in to the game and its development. I think they were outstanding, with things like Crash TV \o/ and their complement of diaries, interaction and staff articles.

The other Burnouts weren't bad games, just not as good. Except for Paradise which was a good game, but lost the Burnout feel. For me Burnout was about learning the tracks and traffic patterns, so you knew that powersliding round that corner at top speed when you where first would drift you between the oncoming traffic. Paradise lost that with the random city traffic.

@StarchildHypocrethes - I disagree completely; I've played Burnout Paradise to 100% 4 times and I think it's the most fun game I've got. As the old adage says: you can please some of the people all of the time or all of the people some of the time but all of the people all of the time.

Gotta agree kosigan. Paradise is one of the best arcade driving games I've ever played, open world full of interesting things to do, huge variety, lots of challenges, the amount of fun in that game is worth about 5 games in 1. And thats before all the extra DLC which does add more fun and value.

Hot Pursuit was also tonnes of fun, I'm guessing this will be likewise because Criterion are near/at the top of their game with arcade racers.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted developer Criterion will be in charge of the entire franchise with the release of its latest title. Criterion vice president Alex Ward told GameInformer that the studio is ready to take the reins.

"Going forward now, with Most Wanted and what we'll do in the future [will have], shall we say, a strong Criterion involvement," Ward said. "I'm personally involved in how the cars drive, how the game will play out, how connected they are, and what the features are."

Criterion jumped on the series with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit in 2010, while the series primary developer, EA Black Box, handled last year's Need for Speed: The Run. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is being developed by Criterion again, with a release scheduled for October 30, 2012. When asked if EA's decision to make the series annual was watering down the franchise, he contended that Criterion's stamp would bring NFS into focus.

"Maybe it's been that way in the past, but that's changed this year with what we're doing Our stamp's going to be in everything you see in Need for Speed and Burnout going forward in the future. It's not going to be spread anymore across different companies. Different studios have had a crack at it - it's definitely a Criterion gig now," he explained.

Currently, the Need for Speed brand covers different game types, including the simulation-based Shift, the online World, the story-based The Run, and Criterion's police-based titles. Ward admits the studio "[thinks] about [Burnout] all the time", but there's no concrete plans for another. Burnout Paradise fans will have to find solace in the open-world Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Fair play to EA for wanting to "bring NFS into focus", although this doesn't mean that Criterion will personally develop every NFS title in the future, just that they'll be involved to some degree at the very least.

It's hardly Need for Speed, if it plays heavily like Burnout.
I like NFS, at least as far as Most Wanted (2003), and the idea of this series. (Undercover looked like garbage, Pro Street... (meh.) I never got in to Shift, Hot Pursuit would probably be an either-way: just too much BP influence for my liking). I'm not sure I've any interest in further amalgamation between these two very different styles of game. I want to see Takedown 2! I'm all for more Burnout...just not this peanut-butter and marmalade deal they've got cooking.

@Syrette: a bit more, from the Game Informer article:

Ward expressed interest in one all-encompassing NFS title. "I think it would be amazing in the future if there was one big game that had all of these [NFS imprints] in it. That would be amazing."